Pokhara Ear CampA group of 33 people including the local Nepali team ran a highly efficient camp that helped 1,370 patients, more than on any previous camp we have held. Surgery (186 operations), outpatients and audiology (710 audiograms and 274 hearing aids fitted) ran continuously for 9 days.Read the Patient's Storieshere.Then on the last day we saw all the postoperative patients and held our dedication ceremony on the site of the planned ear hospital. We were delighted to have several local ENT doctors join us every day.Foundation Stone Laying

We had a beautiful ceremony on the grounds allocated for the Ear Hospital, with a magnificent Himalayan backdrop. INF leadership who were in the very first meeting when it was agreed to develop the project were present as speakers, then Lukas Eberle representing the main Swiss donor organisation spoke, followed by Mike Smith, who outlined the needs and the original vision for the project.To see the location of the Foundation Stone in Google Maps, click here

Peder Eriksson filmed the speeches which you can watch in our video gallery HERE or by clicking the images below

Funding SuccessWe received the initial bids from the large engineering firms hoping to get the building contract. We are now certain that the funds raised are adequate for the hospital building. This is very exciting after several years of effort.Download Mike Smith's REPORTHERE

A huge thank you to everyone who took part, assisted and supported the 'Ride for Nepal - 24 hour challenge' over the weekend, making it such a success.More than 30 riders took part, covering a total distance of over 4100 miles (6600 km) between them. That equates to the same distance from London to Kathmandu, or 750 times the height of Mt. Everest!

Through the generous sponsorship of our cyclists and the sale of a delicious lunch and snacks on the day, we were able to raise over £20,000 - a massive achievement which will go a long way in making the Pokhara Ear Hospital a reality.

If you would like to be kept up to date with hospital progress along with news of earaidnepal's most recent endeavours, ear camp reports and future events; please register to receive our newsletter here.

Due to the success of the weekend, we have already started to think about running something similar next year, so keep your eyes peeled for part 2!

A massive thank you once again from all the earaidnepal team, see you soon!

Team EAN on the final recce last weekendThe first 'Ride for Nepal - 24 hour Challenge' will get underway at 6pm on Friday 21st June. Over 40 riders will be taking part in the event in Suffolk on the longest day of the year.

Joy Rosenberg recently volunteered for the Chainpur Ear Camp. While there, she made a wonderfully atmospheric video slide show, with accompanying haunting Nepali music, that'll transport you to Nepal and back in 15 minutes.

Click below to see the show, and click here to let us know that you'd like to volunteer for the next camp :)

We are all fine and busy, 19 operations yesterday and about 150 out-patients each day. Today is Nepali new year 2070 so not sure yet, but it may be a quiet day in out-patients. Lots of operations to do though, and dental and hearing aids are also very busy.

This little 5 year old had really bad bilateral ear infections with no ear drums and very poor hearing, so we're hoping that the mastoid operation will change things a lot for her. We need to plan how to see her and do the other ear later, maybe at the Pokhara ear camp in November.

We operated until 2am two nights ago, but only until 10pm last night and this morning we struggled to wake up and get going on the 1km walk across the bridge to work!

It's sunny and warm here with views of mountain tops through gaps in the hills up the valleys.

Tom Martin and his brother Will went to Suffolk to ride the route for the EarAidNepal Suffolk 300 and ran into serious snow and probably the worst weather in late March for some time! This is Will battling through the snow and mud. We can't guarantee sunshine in June but it should be warmer than this!

Plans for the cycle ride due to take place on June 21/22 are racing ahead and a route has now been mapped out in the beautiful Suffolk countryside near Aldeburgh. Intrepid cyclists raising money for Ear Aid Nepal will take on challenges of varying distances. The ride will take place on the longest day of the year and will run through the night: the longest challenge (of 300 miles!) will run from 6pm-6pm. Other participants will ride shorter distances of 50-200 miles.

The ride will be based around the village of Blaxhall, where there is a YHA hostel reserved for those involved in the ride. We are looking for people to join us on the ride (whatever the distance you want to take on!) and also need volunteers to help out with support. In particular we are looking for people who would be able to offer mechanical help and massage for tired legs! If you would like to get involved, then please contact Tom Martin on cyclechallenge@earaidnepal.org

We've created an A3 poster which you can download here and put up in cycle shops and workplaces to help generate as much support as possible!

Hereford Half Marathon - Sunday 12th May 2013Hi all, spring is here and I have just started training again.This is probably the last time I will be asking everybody to sponsor me so please, please make an effort (if you work for HCS/BBC&S CSU).

I am splitting the fund raising between our local Hospice St Michaels and Mike Smith'sEar clinic project in Nepal. I have set the donations to go to the hospice and I will match whatever anyone donates for the Ear hospital in Nepal.

I am hoping to smash my PB of 1hour 44mins and 29 seconds. Last year I hobbled the last 6 miles but fingers crossed there wont be any dramas. Here is the link to my JustGiving page with some pictures and more info: https://www.justgiving.com/John-Olivier2

This will be the last chance to sponsor me for most of you, and every pound you give will cost me a pound, so please dig deep and bid me a fond farewell (or good riddance for some of you!).

In June, TOM MARTIN will be cycling 300 miles to raise money for the Ear Aid Nepal appeal: he hopes to do it with at least 50 other keen cyclists and for it to be a bit more fun than it sounds! This is what he says: I’m a keen cyclist and wanted to take on a challenge so I thought this would be the best way to raise money for what I know is a fantastic charity. I am a newly-qualified ear surgeon working in Worcester, UK, and I have been lucky enough to have a long association with the INF and with Mike Smith, the ear surgeon behind plans to build the hospital in Pokhara. Mike has inspired me throughout my training for his surgical skills and his humanitarian work: he has taught me far more than I have been able to absorb and has given me the opportunity to work on two occasions now in INF ear camps. These have been some of the toughest but most rewarding weeks of my life: never luxurious, always fulfilling and fascinating for the disease that we see and treat. I know that the hospital in Pokhara will extend further the work that Mike and his team can achieve in Nepal: all we need to do is to raise the money to build it!

If you are interested in joining me on the ride (many people will be riding less than 300 miles: 50, 100, 200 miles…) then please contact me on cyclechallenge@earaidnepal.org The ride will take place in the beautiful Suffolk countryside based around Aldeburgh on 21/22 June. Accommodation at reasonable rates will be available for the Friday and Saturday nights. If you think you might be able to help in other ways (I am particularly looking for masseurs/masseuses and a good bike mechanic…) then please get in touch.

We arrived here in Chainpur this morning (22/1/2013) at 11 am. We met some ear post op patients from 2009 camp. They are all happy and we are welcome again by them as well as by hospital doctors and staff.

Times have changed, and this means Chainpur too, the road is now good, the hotel also new and much, much better than 2009.

In Chainpur there are two new and big hotels, the first has 12 rooms (1x 2 = 8 and 1x1= 5) with free internet but not any attached bathroom, just a common bathroom and other hotel has 1x2 = 4 and 1x1 = 1, total 5 rooms.

The hospital is much, much better than 2009, it is good. So the camp will definitely be in Chainpur. I will think and plan other logistic things and let you know soon.

Re traveling, I am thinking on Sunday April 7th about 2.30pm you will fly to Nepalgunj arrive at 3.30 in Nepalgunj and same day travel to Bardiya National Park. You will get there around 5pm, stay a night and Monday morning start at 7am to Bajhang. You will get here around 6pm.

We are looking for one or two volunteer audiologists for a charitable ear camp in Nepal this April.

The International Nepal Fellowship has run these ear camps in remote areas of Nepal twice a year since 1993. We have an excellent local Nepali team and we also take 4 otologists, anaesthetists, theatre nurses and usually 3 audiologists from abroad. We travel to Kathmandu then fly on into western Nepal, finishing the journey to a small district hospital by Land rover. I am an ENT consultant/otologist in Hereford and Worcester and I am the main organiser of volunteers and the regular surgeon on these ear camps. We have had many volunteer audiologists from Britain and other countries. Our next camp is for two weeks in April 2013 - we usually take 3 audiologists with us but two had to cancel recently. We leave the UK on the evening of Friday 5th April 2013 and returning by Sunday 21st April, though some volunteers stay longer to go sight seeing and trekking (we can arrange that if you would like).

We generally book volunteers a year or more in advance but we have two spaces that have fallen vacant for this April, so we are in URGENT need of at least one replacement. Volunteers are self funding (many volunteers have raised their own fares with local events), the experience is amazing and valuable. We can easily put you in touch with previous volunteers and there is a lot of information in the Volunteering section of this website.

PLEASE consider this, it will be a very special and worthwhile chance.

Between us we saw over 1,200 patients on our most recent camp in November 2012. Of these 150 had surgery and a record 200 were fitted with hearing aids.We have staff and people with local language skills to help.If you want any more information then please contact: